Gekkeikan Sake Co. Celebrates 20 Years in U.S.

August 18, 2009

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New Rochelle, NY. – August 18, 2009 – Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc., a leader in ultra-premium wine and spirits, is proud to announce that Gekkeikan Sake U.S.A. celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Parent company, Gekkeikan Sake Company, Ltd., based in Kyoto, Japan, is the world’s most popular sake brand and was founded in 1637 by the Okura family. With nearly 400 years and 14 generations of sake brewing experience, Gekkeikan, one of the oldest-family operated businesses in the world and one of the most respected names in sake, has proudly been the official sake of Japan’s Imperial Household for almost a century.

Gekkeikan Sake Company, Ltd. is the largest sake producer in the world with seven brewing facilities in the prestigious Fushimi region of the Kyoto Prefecture and one in Folsom, California. After its establishment in 1989, Gekkeikan Sake U.S.A. built a brewery equipped with an all-season brewing system using the latest technology. This brewery started brewing in October 1990 and shipped its first sake in May 1991. In 1994, annual production stood at approximately 100,000 9-liter cases. Since then, demand for sake has grown steadily, driving production up to 200,000 9-liter cases by 1999, and almost 500,000 9-liter cases by 2008. Gekkeikan Sake U.S.A. has consistently met the increasing demand in the United States, and has supplied sake to Canada, Brazil, Europe and other markets throughout the world.

To keep pace with this growing demand, Gekkeikan Sake U.S.A. has steadily expanded its brewing facilities. By January 2006, it had already installed sufficient fermentation and storage tanks to brew over half a million 9-liter cases annually, and plans to double that capacity to more than a million 9-liter cases. With the installation of additional brewing equipment, it is planning to be able to produce over 650,000 9-liter cases by 2011 and will carry out further expansion as demand continues to rise.

“We at Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. are honored to share in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Gekkeikan U.S.A.,” said John Frank, Vice Chairman of Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. “Through tireless efforts and dedication to quality; Gekkeikan has earned the position as the number one selling sake in the nation.”